Monday, December 24, 2012

When I wrote
my final post for 2011 “Memories? Fuggedaboutit!”, you
could be forgiven if you came away thinking I was about ready to give up on
track weekends. After all, we had a dismal run of luck and as much as we
prepared for every event, it turned out to be nothing but one frustrating
session after another. However, as we really looked under the hood of our
wonderful, supercharged Corvette – the C6 Z51 “auto” coupe, the more we came to
realize that, perhaps, this wasn’t going to be the car that would allow us to
progress any further. While we had tamed it somewhat and pulled horsepower and
torque back from earlier levels, even at the altitude where we most often ran,
it still wasn’t a satisfying car with which to tackle track days. The picture
above? From a tuning day, just as 2011 came to an end.

Today, the C6 ‘Vette, or Big Blue, as we fondly refer to it, has undergone a
remarkable transformation under the watchful supervision of Curt at Corvette
Spa, in nearby Longmont. To Curt, it always comes back to durability and so,
following the replacement of the shock absorbers (all round) with a little
stiffer Bilstein HDs, a new set of brake rotors and pads (Hawk High Performance
Street), and where we finally had the brake calipers powder-coated red, a
revised alignment to better suit the street and considerable reworking of
elements within the cockpit – gear shifter now operates smoothly and the
heads-up display has been reinstalled – the ‘Vette runs great. So much so (and
yes, even more horsepower and torque was pulled out of the engine program), we
now run with “just 500 rwhp” the car has turned into a very pleasant daily
drive, and one I often selected for summer and fall evening runs!

Fortunately, if you looked back even further to other end of season posts you
would have seen that the final post for 2008, our inaugural session, “Looking back on '08”, you would
have seen the reference and photo of that other Corvette we had in our garage –
the C5 Z06. And what good fortune it was to have this ‘Vette available for
track weekends. Apart from replacing the original 2003 tires, upgrading the
fluids and brake pads, this ‘Vette needed very little attention and yet, proved
to be a more than capable car when it came to lapping our favorite tracks in
Colorado and California. The single biggest difference was control and, to a
lesser degree, finesse. With a manual transmission we were able to select gears
we wanted to be in, and being a much lighter car, it just went where we pointed
it with the rear end never once stepping out on us. There was never any anxiety
about Frankenstein, or perhaps more accurately, Dr Jeckyll’s Mr. Hyde suddenly
appearing without an invitation.

It was also
Margo’s year. With a reliable, predictable car to drive Margo’s confidence grew
in leaps and bounds and as we spent many a Friday (and the one Monday) at our
local track – High Plains Raceway (HPR), east of Denver – with as many laps as
Margo was able to reel off, her consistency and speed rose accordingly. Already
a seasoned National Auto Sports Association (NASA) HPDE 2 driver, allowing her
to be on track now without an instructor, she more than held her own on open
lapping days where there were no restrictions on overtaking and where her
communication, and indeed predictability, was much welcomed by other
participants. On some occasions Margo shared the track with racers preparing
for an upcoming “One Lap of America” event while at others, she was in the mix
of Radicals and open wheel formula cars.

This confidence manifested itself during her outings with NASA that followed –
running consistently as one of the top three drivers at the early summer NASA
Rocky Mountain event at HPR, pretty much uncatchable at the mid-year NASA SoCal
event at Willow Springs, and able to come to turns with a very unfamiliar track
configuration at the year ending NASA SoCal event at Buttonwillow. The big
difference with driving the C5 Z06 was that with the manual transmission and
the tall final drive that comes standard with the Z06, the first couple of laps
in the early sessions would see her comfortably lapping in just third gear –
with little to no “bogging” coming out of turns. The ability to manage the
torque well enough enabled Margo to remain competitive for much of the session.

The picture above is of Margo running Buttonwillow track configuration 13,
counter-clockwise, and shows her exit from the Buttonhook having passed the
section of track called I5 and the I5 off-ramp. As for my time on the track, I
felt a lot more at ease behind the wheel of the Z06 than of any other car we
had taken to the track – it was all about predictability and being able to
place the car exactly where I wanted to. As the year progressed, consistently
hitting the apexes became more routing, as did letting the car “flow” and not
be pinched as I tried to get just that little more from it. In time, I found
myself not braking quite as hard and able to roll onto full throttle a lot
earlier and the more I worked on smoothing everything out, the faster I was
able to go. Again, the instructions from my first outing with NASA SoCal were
never far from my thoughts as no matter the track – and yes, I spent a day at
Pikes Peak International Raceway for the first time ever, running it too in the
opposite direction; clockwise with the oval turns all right hand turns –
determine each turn’s exit and then work backwards to where you locate the
apex, then sort out your turn-in and finally, figure out just the amount of
braking you need to make this all flow!

With five
years of weekend track sessions under our belt, there has been another constant
as well. The social aspect from joining others with a like-minded passion for
driving cars fast and safely has led to many friendships being created. Whether
it’s a young driver putting on a helmet for the first time and introducing
themselves to Margo and me or an old-hand we have seen many times before,
seeing friendly faces everywhere we go now has become a big part of why we
enjoy the activity as much as we do. For us, it’s still far removed from being
a sport as we are not interested in the competitive side of driving fast, but
rather and yet, being able to simply hang-out with those who do take it
seriously and, occasionally,have them
ask for a ride-along with either one of us, is all the reward we look for. When
we arrive at HPR we are asked about the “line” we prefer and more often of
late, entertain requests to participate in a couple of lead-follow laps to
better observe the line we prefer!

However, this year proved more enjoyable than many of the outings of previous
years for another reason. During the offseason we bought an RV and a trailer
and this has now become our command center when we participate in business
trade shows and other user group events as well as our entertainment center
when we marketing our company during promotional outings at the track. No more
“making the best of it” at nearby motels or having to face long drives back
home each evening just to turn right around before dawn to head back to the
track. Plenty of seating, too, to more properly entertain the business clients
we have had join us, as has happened more than once this year. And to work from
as well, as the picture of Margo above so clearly portrays. The evening’s
martini somehow proving to be a lot more enjoyable when served this way rather
than being imbibed directly from a mini-bar’s miniatures!

Simply acquiring the RV has been a bigger life-changing event than we had ever
considered – yes, we had watched others driving the freeways of America even as
we mused on how much fun it would be to do something similar – the freedom that
comes from being able to go anywhere at any time, pull over and rest should the
weather prove inclement, and have a platform from which both of us can work has
proved more beneficial for us than we could have ever surmised. And the picture
below, showing us pulled over in the
truck rest area atop Donner Pass, California, as we headed to California for
the last time only five or six weeks ago, and with snow clearly visible on the
surrounding peaks.

However, it
would be remiss of me to talk about life-changing events without referencing
the upcoming transition Margo and I will undergo when in the coming spring we
will become grandparents. Our daughter Anna and her husband Erich are expecting
their first child, and we couldn’t be happier. Obviously the downside here is
that any plans we may have harbored for returning yet again to Willow Springs
for the NASA SoCal weekend event early in May have been shelved. There’s a much
more important priority. Fortunately, the RV we elected to purchase is a
bunk-house coach with a couple of bunks in place that will be perfect for
grandchildren, and with Anna already talking of the possibility of a second
grandchild, it looks like we may yet become the “fun grandparents” to spend
time with. Should the grandchildren ever express any interest in karting, you
just know there will be one set of very supportive grandparents waiting in the
wings!

There’s also been another turn of events that has us drawing a little closer to
Corvettes that involves just a little more than simply showing up at the track
on weekends. Curt and the Corvette Spa have done such a great job with
preparing our two ‘Vettes – returning Big Blue to civilian life and equipping
the Torch Red Z06 for track duties, that Margo and I have begun a small
business undertaking that will further strengthen our ties to the Corvette Spa.
Capitalizing on the recognition we are receiving at the tracks in Colorado we
attend, we have completed negotiations with A&A Corvette Performance of
Oxnard, California, and will be selling the Vortech supercharger package that
Andy and the team at A&A have spent many years fine-tuning. Much publicized
in features in ‘Vette magazine, we see an underserved marketplace stretching
from the Canadian border through Montana and Wyoming all the way to the foot of
Colorado for this product.

The RV entertainment center has again helped pave the way for this new business
adventure and with Pyalla Technologies “Track Days” decals becoming available
(and liberally plastered to our track car and trailer) we are keeping our
fingers crossed. If you haven’t already been following the posts to our latest
blog, “Day at the Spa”. Take a look, as I will be keeping everyone informed about
our progress. Should you be interested to know the scope (and costs) of these
packages, then check out the specific post, “Business
Meetings! The packages unveiled ...” Links to this blog are now on the web site of Corvette Spa
and hopefully, will soon be on the web site of A&A Corvette Performance.
Diversity is good, or so we have been told, and with our consulting business
flourishing and keeping us both extremely busy it seems only natural for Margo
and me to take on even more work and those readers who keep close tabs on us
via LinkedIn will know all too well how really busy we have become of late!

Looking
back, if 2011 was frustrating and a year to forget, 2012 proved to be the
complete opposite. It was the first full year where Margo and I worked fulltime
for our consulting company, Pyalla Technologies. There are still a lot of
people who now find it very amusing that given we only need to walk down two
flights of stairs to be in our office, we have five vehicles parked in our
garages (and driveway – there’s just no room for the Escalade). We still have a
pair of cruising motorcycles in addition to the RV, but sometime next spring,
there may be something squeezed into the garage that will replace both
motorcycles. Anyone for a trike? How about a CanAm Spyder?

Seriously, it has always been a difficult task predicting what will transpire
in the coming twelve months. There will continue to be weekends spent at the
track – we now so enjoy the C5 Z06 ‘Vette that we see no other role for it than
being our track car, visibly promoting our new business interest, Pyalla
Technology Track Days. However, we will also be spending more time in northern
California where our primary business interest lie, even as we elect to spend a
lot more time at home given the arrival this spring of our first grandchild.
Southern California will continue to attract us as that is where our many
friends live. It would be remiss of me not to call out just how much fun it has
been this year sharing many trips with our very dear friends, Brian and Jan Kenny
who we met over a Starbucks in Simi Valley, California, several years ago. And
yes, with our business interests in Australia beginning to turn the corner,
there will be a trip to Sydney late in the year, with Brian and Jan, even as my
daughter Lisa, living in Sydney, makes plans to be with us here in Boulder for
Christmas, 2013.

And talking of Christmas and the traditional Christmas dinner, the picture
above was taken just a short time ago as the turkey came out of the oven. A
glorious magnum of Wynn’s 1993 John Riddoch cabernet sauvignon had just been
decanted (and about time, too) and the meal that followed a few hours later
with the family proved enjoyable. With the year being better than expected and
the coming year looking even more promising, Margo and I wish you all the best
for the holiday season and look forward to catching up with many of you out on
the track once again! Yes, Happy New Year!